West Virginia Couple Killed in NC Tractor-Trailer Crash
A couple from West Virginia were tragically killed on Thursday when a tractor-trailer drove into the back of their pickup truck. The Stovers had stopped for traffic on Interstate 77 in Yadkin County, North Carolina when a YRC rig pulling two trailers failed to slow down.
According to comments from the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, the driver of the YRC rig never hit the brakes before hitting the Stovers and the Stovers were killed on impact. At this point, it is not clear whether the driver of the YRC rig was distracted as he approached the traffic.
Information regarding this accident indicates that the Stovers had stopped due to construction and that work crews were starting to put out cones in preparation for the road work. The NCDOT and the Manual For Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) have very specific rules regarding the warnings necessary for interstate lane closures. In this case, it is unclear whether the warnings were appropriate and whether that contributed to this crash.